Biogen Idec Announces President and Chief Executive Officer James C. Mullen to Retire

Biogen Idec Announces President and Chief Executive Officer James C. Mullen to Retire
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan 04, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB), a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced that James C. Mullen, President and Chief Executive Officer, will retire from his position effective June 8, 2010. Mr. Mullen will also retire from the Company's Board upon the completion of his current term as a Director at the Company's 2010 Annual Shareholder Meeting. The Company has initiated a search for Mr. Mullen's successor.
"Jim Mullen's more than 20 years of leadership have transformed Biogen Idec from a fledgling company with no marketed products to a global leader in the biotech industry that has helped hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide," said Biogen Idec Chairman William D. Young. "His vision and commitment to our patients, investors and employees resulted in the successful merger of Biogen and Idec in 2003, three blockbuster products, and a broad and deep pipeline that holds the promise of more great products in the future. We look forward to continuing to build on this success."

"I have had the opportunity to work with many talented and dedicated colleagues over the past 21 years, and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together," said Mr. Mullen. "With our strong product portfolio, pipeline, global presence and financial profile, the Company is well positioned to continue to enhance the lives of patients and deliver value to its investors. I look forward to helping the Company make the transition to a new leader and enter the next chapter of its success."

About Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec creates new standards of care in therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs. Founded in 1978, Biogen Idec is a global leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies. Patients in more than 90 countries benefit from Biogen Idec's significant products that address diseases such as lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. For product labeling, press releases and additional information about the company, please visit www.biogenidec.com.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the management of our Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from that which we expect, including the uncertainty of recruiting successors to the President and Chief Executive Officer and Board, success in successfully developing and commercializing our product candidates, the occurrence of adverse safety events with our product candidates, competitive pressures, our dependence on collaborations over which we may not always have full control, possible adverse impact of government regulation, our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and the cost of doing so and the other risks and uncertainties that are described in Item 1.A. Risk Factors in our annual report on Form 10-K and in other reports we file with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

 

SOURCE: Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec Media Contact:Amy Reilly, 617-914-6524Associate Director, Public AffairsorBiogen Idec Investor Relations Contact:Eric Hoffman, 617-679-2812Director, Investor Relations